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That’s the closest I can come to summing up why the Red Wings are consistently able to get more from players than other organizations.

I’m not just talking about the reclamation projects, though that’s the impetus for this post, but about roughly 75% of the team.

When speaking of successful organizations, obnoxious pundits — yours truly included — will talk about the “culture of winning” and how “success breeds success” and all sorts of bullshit. While probably true on some level, that bullshit doesn’t really explain anything of substance when it comes to late-round draft picks panning out with a frequency bordering on startling and former busts turning their careers around as soon as they pull that red and white sweater over their heads.

It’s pretty simple, I think: Athletes crave structure. They feed off it, even if they dislike it. They remember it fondly, when it’s disappeared. They excel in structured environments when a firm hand is on their shoulder and their role is clearly defined by an authority figure.

Bill Belichick, whatever you think of the New England Patriots, is a master at this. It’s the same reason that both the Detroit Pistons, as a team, and Allen Iverson, as an individual, reached heights they’d never before achieved under the strict guidance of Larry Brown. It’s why Michael Jordan would pay homage to Dean Smith every single chance he got, why Dennis Rodman listened to Phil Jackson and why every player who ever cursed Scotty Bowman’s name knows — deep down inside — that they were never better than when he was their coach.

Structure is the basis for everything the Red Wings have achieved in the past 20 years. It’s the force behind Darren Helm’s, Jonathan Ericsson’s and (eventually) Justin Abdelkader’s seamless transition to the NHL.

It’s the reason Mikael Samuelsson went from unsigned pre-Wings to a healthy payday post-Wings. It’s why Daniel Cleary brought a big shiny trophy back to Newfoundland and why Larry Murphy was wonderful in Pittsburgh, terrible in Toronto, and then wonderful again in Detroit.

And — you all knew where this was headed — it’s the reason Patrick Eaves is scoring 20 goals this season, provided he doesn’t suffer an injury.

I’ve always thought Eaves was headed for big things. He was great all through his amateur career … because of structure. Brought up by his father who played in the NHL, and attending Shattock-St. Mary’s a high school known for a strict system of both education and developing young hockey talent. From there he played two years at Boston College, another hockey-centric institution with a long-established program for moving talented kids along in their careers.

Then? Drafted by the Senators. Brought up way too quickly from Binghampton to the big club that was, though stocked with talented players at the time, never exactly known for discipline, tradition or, wait for it … structure.

He managed to pot 20 goals in his rookie season, but then — with the rumours of cocaine abuse and constant playoff failure that became a hallmark of that now-doomed Sens team — he slacked off and fell to just 14 goals the next season. Next came the lack of conditioning and the injuries and the team crumbling around him. Before he knew it, he was in Carolina, playing for a team that didn’t really have a role for him.

Then he was dealt, and unceremoniously cut. Now he’s a Red Wing.

Now, I promise you, there will be structure. I would wager whatever you care to put up that either today or tomorrow there will be a phone conversation between Patrick Eaves and Mike Babcock. The discussion won’t take long, but Patrick Eaves will hang up the phone feeling more comfortable about his career as a hockey player than he has since his rookie season, when his ceiling was as high as his Senators teammates were getting in the dressing room.

“He’s just really entering what should be his prime years,” Ken Holland told the Windsor Star yesterday. “He was the elite of the elite in his age group.

“It’s not a big gamble. We know there’s a good hockey player in there.”

Ken Holland knows what turns talented, directionless players into hard-working, effective ones.

“I think Patrick is one of those guys like we’ve had that just needs a fresh start,” Holland said. “He’s scored 20 goals in this league before and we feel we play a style he’ll fit into.”

“I think we’ve had success with guys like this because of the leadership and talent in our dressing room. It’s an easy room to get comfy in.

“It’s filled with good people, a winning tradition, it’s team first and guys make sacrifices. Because of our stability, players coming in get to feed off that.”

Patrick Eaves will have structure, and he’ll thrive because of it. If he plays every day and can’t score at least 20 … then he’s not worth the minimum wage he’s making. In the meantime, I’ll just be happy thinking about him playing alongside Cleary and Darren Helm on what would most likely be the fastest line in hockey.